Wedding Crasher

Pablo and I have exactly no wedding invites this summer. We watched the movie "Wedding Crashers" last night. Slim pickins' on TV during the summer. It's been a while since I've seen this one.

If you haven't ever seen it - the movie features two 30ish guys (played by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn) that "crash" weddings, large lavish ones. They pretend to be invited guests and have a ball eating, drinking and getting chicks. At the end of the wedding season they hit "the wedding" - the daughter of a big wig. It's a hoot when Vaughn (in character as Jeremy) is showing off his balloon animal making talents at the reception. A bratty kid demands that he craft a bicycle for him out of the balloons. I laughed out loud when the kid walked away with a full sized balloon bike. Ride that sucka.

The movie is making me pine to be at a good old fashioned summer Iowa wedding! Tent reception, buffet and beer. I've been to a few in my day. I was even invited.

Paul and I had a summer wedding. that's probably why I'm a bit partial to them. We didn't have a dance or a tent - we did have an second reception (after the formal one at the Country Club) at our house at 202 Crombie in Atlantic. My parents' friends helped by preparing and serving a fab beef brisket meal. Beer was served. Some of the wedding party got a little drunk - sitting in the front yard and garage with our friends. Grass stains were found on the white tuxedos the next day...

Krissy and her daddy - before the partay

It's been about four years since Krissy McFee married Caleb Carroll in Creston. That was a damn good summer wedding! The reception was at Crestmoor Country Club and there was a chilled trailer for beer - the kegs kept coming. There was a dance floor set up in the tent and people were having fun. A good time was had by all. A couple summer ago the Peterson boys (Deb and Larry's sons) got married here in the DSM area. Those were fun times.

the dance - Brett Peterson's wedding. I had all my moves that night...

I'm not saying non-summer weddings aren't fun. They can be a warm respite during chillier times of the year. Wedding Crashers just made me feel like celebrating love on a hot summer night. Any takers out there?

One week to go

One week to go of my usual schedule. After tomorrow's Martin Luther King Holiday, it will be a short week too. Tick, tick. I'm sure Pablo is more nervous about it than I am. After all, he's going to be doing a whole different job, while I'm just changing schedules and roommates.

I feel uneasy about leaving my nice room and bed and Joan's house. What if someone else wants to live there? I'll lose my spot! When I first moved in with Joan, her niece Krissy lived there, and she had laid claim to the downstairs bedroom. As the new kid, and only a part timer, I took the spare bed downstairs in the "living room" area. And was very grateful to get that.

I started my job in December 2008, a very cold winter. It was quite chilly by the window in my bed. I'd sleep with longjohns and socks on most nights. Yes, the bedroom and its large bed and closer bathroom access is much preferable. But...if Joan get another roomie while I'm gone - so be it.

My usual schedule has me leaving Joan's at 6 a.m. to start work at 6:30 a.m. (while it's still very quiet in cubicle-land in the Wallace Building), working until 5:00 p.m. most days. And I'm used to coming home to Creston on Thursdays - leaving work around 3 PM that day to head south. Some Thursday nights, I've had book club.

Then, on Fridays I work a few hours where I'm sitting right now - in my chair. I get work stuff done without the distraction of, well...work. My Fridays in Creston give me some flexibility to run errands, have medical appointments - stuff like that. And go to lunch with my spouse. It's been pretty convenient. But all that is changing, temporarily anyway. I'll stay in DSM through Friday with Paul.

Paul and I hope to leave one car here and drive to DSM together - saving $ on our commute. We're going to have a housesitter. A big burly guy named Bruno who knows jujitsu and has lots of weapons. So if you're reading this and plan to rob our home - forget about it! The kitty will stay here too - so she'll hiss at you - it's very scary.

In the meantime, Pablo and I are off tomorrow to look at a couple furnished downtown lofts. Here's a link to one. Ours would be furnished, so we wouldn't worry about that. It's been a dream of mine to live like this. But not really Paul's. So how fun to give it a "test drive".
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/301-E-Court-Ave-207-Des-Moines-IA-50309/2146751676_zpid/

The lofts probably won't be available right away, so we'll be calling Embassy Suites home for a couple weeks.

Pablo and Leslie's Big Adventure. Let's hope we don't knock over some bad-ass bikers' row of Harleys. (like Pee Wee did in his adventure).

First day of school

I took a short walk tonight when I got home - still trying to loosen up that tailbone injury ya know. You know what looks worse than my thighs in Kohls mirror in a swimsuit at the end of winter? My ass with a bruise.,

Anyway, while walking, the late August sun on my back made me feel like "Back to School" time. I got a bit nostalgic for the days when Amy and Jud were school kids. They each started their educations at Creative Beginnings - a pre-school in Creston run by two sisters, Mrs. Drey and Mrs. Weeda. They are awesome teachers and get the kids more than prepared for kindergarten. In fact - Kgarten was still half day when our kids went, and it seemed boring after Creative Beginnings (CB)!

Amy attended CB with Krissy McFee, Ryan McKim and Brett Peterson. Jud went with Kimmy McFee, Keith Peterson and Katie McKim. We all carpooled, which made it more convenient. Parents took turns bringing a healthy snack and kids also had to take other homework assignments like a map of Ireland - not so easy back in the pre Internet days! We lived for "parent teacher conference" so we could hear how wonderful our children were!

Then the kids moved on to St. Malachy. We were so fortunate to have such a great school in our town - it was one of the things that kept us in town. We had planned on moving on - staying in Creston for just a few years and then Paul would apply for a job elsewhere. I hadn't planned to live an hour from my hometown! But a good education for our children (and fun and quirky people for us to drink and hang out with) trumped that other stuff. So we stayed.

I'm glad we did. And we went through lots of "first days of school" for the kids. New backpacks, new shoes and outfits. Amy would label all the school supplies (for both kids) in her neatest handwriting. Sometimes even individual crayons! Jud wasn't ever that excited. And on the first day Moki and I would walk the kids down the street to the bus. I'd watch until the big yellow buses took off. Then I'd go home and have a big bloody mary. haha just kidding! I should have though!

Sa-weet fam time

We had some sweet family time this weekend. As four independent adults, it's not like we all sit, hold hands and sing kumbaya when we're together. Okay so we're a little dysfunctional - it's hard to meld back together after being apart so much.

But yet it works - it's our family. We laugh, make sarcastic remarks to each other and interact. It was great and I'm very glad A & J made the effort to make it here. Jud arrived Friday afternoon - it's under 4 hours from the Quad Cities to here. He's getting some great experience on America's highways this summer.

We grilled steaks that night as the poor kid hadn't eaten a home-cooked meal for weeks. We had an invite to sit on McKim's deck for drinks after supper, so we headed there for an enjoyable evening. Higgins were there too - it was Sharon's bday!

During the night it started to rain and storm...and rain and rain - nearly 5 inches. I could imagine Bobbie and Jeff on the eve of their daughter's wedding worrying about the tent and the reception. I would have! It continued to rain all a.m. Paul headed to DM around noon to pick Amy up at the airport - she'd been at a concert the night before and I'm afrain she was still inebriated from the night before for her flight...she had a hangover by the time she got home!

That afternoon Odie started acting sick - like she had a bellyache, so P and I took her to the vet. Diagnosis - impacted anal glands. Poor thing - her pooper was sore! No wonder she was moaning.

We dressed for the wedding and got there early. The ceremony was short and sweet - a friend of the couple, Nick Juelsgaard did the honors and did a wonderful job. It was simple and 14 minutes - Jud timed it! Reception at Crestmoor. We took a pic in our nice clothes and were kinda color coordinated.

Jud was enthralled by the fabulous invention - the beer keg trailer cooler. 5 kegs chilled to perfection, free. I found out later he also partook in shots of good vodka. Luckily, he's not a sloppy drunk and carries on a pretty decent conversation after drinking. Amy did not drink, still suffering from the prior evening.

Bobbie and Jeff were holding up pretty well, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. The DJ did a nice job - and when Love Shack came on, Paul looked at me like "oh shit, now she wants to dance". But he was bailed out by my girlies! First Deb, but then lots of them - we danced because we could. The dance floor was a little slanted due to the hillside - good thing I wasn't drunk! We danced later too - when Dancing Queen came on, plus a few other faves. All too soon the reception was over. Krissy and Caleb Carroll were moving their party to Super 8.

We got to ride in the McKim RV and went to Sidetracked, a blue collar bar in town. 3 of the 4 bridal parents were with us. They were pondering whether they were down a child now, or up one!?!? Good question. A good time was had by all.

Today it was hard to say goodbye, after burgers for lunch. (Amy is done being a vegan for now) Everyone is going back to their own lives. We do get to see them both in July at Leslie's wedding! Yay.

Krissy's gettin' married

Little Krissy McFee is getting married Saturday. Yikes! The girl who used to come over to play at our house, mostly as a package deal with her little sis. You've gotta be kidding - somebodies Mrs?

Okay - so she's 24. The same age I was when I got married. That's not so young. (she's still a baby...) And she's dated Caleb ever since she started coming to watch Jud play soccer all those years ago. (haha that's what she told Jud).

So our friends Bobbie and Jeff will be the parents of a married person. So weird. I'm excited for K&C - and wish for them many happy years of marriage.

Other stuff: There is a lady at the Wallace Building that has a car just like my snazzy little silver Subaru. Last week she pulled in near me right after I parked and I looked up and almost called out something funny like "Nice Car", but then I got a look at her - kind of a Nurse Ratched sour puss! Never mind, I'll enjoy my car without sharing. I hate to think she has one just like it.

Feeling clean

The grandmas




Early gabbing - McKims house is big and beautiful - perfect for events like this!




Gift opening

Sharon, L, Joanie, Diana - the hostesses

Bailey Miller, Kristina McFee - bridey

After the shower I mean. Diana, Joan, Sharon and I hosted a bridal shower for Kristina McFee today at D's house. We planned it all via email - technology at its finest. We pulled it off anyway. It seemed to go swell - good food, lots of chatting, I mixed up drinks and the kids got some nice gifts, which Krissy opened and displayed for all. Sharon's daughter Amanda and granddaughter Olivia (nearly 2) were there - always nice to see them. Livvie is getting big!

Krissy is Kristina McFee - someone I've known since she was around two, when I met her mommy Bobbie at sorority - Beta Sigma Phi, Zeta Iota Chapter. Bobbie and I were new pledges together and found out we had daughters who were similar age. Those daughters so started having play dates together when their mommys did. And the daddys found they were both farm boys who also had a lot in common. The two families have been hanging out ever since.

When Amy's brother Jud was born, Amy stayed all night at McFee's house. And Kimmy and Jud grew used to being stalked by the older siblings during mutual play dates. And viceversa. The four children spent lots of time together through the years. Many Sundays found us gathering together for an evening meal - Jeff, Bobbie, Paul and I would enjoy a cocktail and conversation while the children played.

I made an egg casserole that got a lil overdone while I was busy whipping up BMs (no - not bowel movements or Bobbie McFees) bloody marys with store bought BM mix and some of Joan's home canned bloody mary mix. I added Worcestershire and that hot red stuff. And pepper. I made the first one a little strong - so I had to drink that one myself. I must have made about twelve of those things.

People spread out and at at the dining room table and on the deck at the tables set there. It was sunny, and decent out of the chilly wind. I think everyone had a nice time. More of my buddies got to meet my roomie Joan - like Nancy. I talk about each of them to each other (in a nice way of course) so it's nice that they finally met!

By the time presents were opened, it was nearly noon. People started to take off - Bobbie's mom asked about Amy, which was nice of her. I talked to Bobbie's sis-in-law Brenda about her wiener dog, who sounds like a lil larger clone of Odie.

I gave Kristina a hug before she left - heck it's like she's a niece of mine too! Wedding is coming up quick - June 5. Pablo promised to fly Amy in for it - after all she's Amy's earliest buddy. And Jud should be home. Gonna be some fun!

So now I'm vegging the rest of today. Paul shot a turkey this a.m. and he waxed his Jeep. Testosterone s/b practically dripping off him!

Cluck Cluck

Yep I'm a biiig chicken. Joan's niece, husband, daughter - a toddler who is 2 and new baby boy - 2 weeks old are coming tomorrow to stay with Joan. I'm baling out! I'm going to Atlantic for work for the day. And I'm heading home after that.

I had considered going home anyway tomorrow - and decided against it. Thinking I needed to be here Thursday to get contracts done. But Joan's news about Erin last night made my mind up for me. You see I've met Erin - AND I've heard the stories. Erin is a spoiled brat. And she's the mom! Her mother - Joan's sister Jean is perfectly fine, as is her sister. I'm not sure just what went wrong with her. Her husband Gene is an enabler - allowing her to get away with her spoiled ways.

So I'm baling on Joan - heading to my own beddy bye - leaving the wayward family to the downstairs, along with their tiny baby and toddler. I'll be working at home Thursday and Friday - and entertaining book club ladies at my place Thursday night - cuz poor Thea broke her elbow! And Saturday we're having my lil buddy Krissy's bridal shower at Diana's house. I'm in charge of preparing an egg casserole and beverages - I'm taking fixin's for BM (that stands for bloody marys) and mimosas (the last time I drank one I fell down and got a black eye - but not due to drinking, it was really due to not warming up, and my cold knees were too cold to jog).